I'm trying to eat a bit healthier than usual at present and so I wanted to make a healthier annual scapular cake for the feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel. It is gluten free. I have a great recipe, but to make the cake you see above, I only used half of the ingredients. I'm calling it a cake, but in way, it's more like a slice, when you make half recipe. It's very dense and the topping is almost as thick as the cake. My cake tin 10 1/2 inches by 7 inches and an inch and half deep. (27cm x 17.5cm x 4cm)

It's healthy but very, very yummy!! Here's the recipe:

Firstly I'll start with the icing..allow it to be nice & thick, it has no sugar so you can feel guilt free about applying it thick! I use a 250gram pack of cream cheese (8.8 oz) and the same about of butter at room temperature. I then beat the two together, add cacao powder until it is a nice, deep chocolate colour, then I add honey to taste (I'm fairly liberal with it, for a lovely, sweet taste.) This icing holds together beautifully and very easy to apply to the cake.

Cake/slice recipe:

1/2 cup of coconut oil

1 cup of caoco powder

270ml (9 oz) can of coconut cream (or milk)

(Melt the coconut oil and mix these ingredients together)

1 and 1/2 cups of rapadura (dried sugar cane juice)

9 eggs

1 tsp of vanilla extract

3/4 tsp of salt

(Mix these ingredients together)

3/4 cup of coconut flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

(Mix together)

Mix the three lots together.

Pour half of this recipe into a dish with the measurements I mentioned above OR pour full recipe into a larger rectangular dish for a larger scapular cake.

If you are using half the recipe, cook only for 20 to 25 mins at 180 degrees celsius (356 degrees fahrenheit) or for 35 mins if using the full recipe.

I wanted to do something a little different for the top of the scapulars...I found this breathtaking image of Our Lady of Mt Carmel bestowing upon St Simon Stock, the scapular. So I printed it up and cut out the two sets of angels and Our Lady and St Simon Stock. I then laminated the images so that they could lie on top of the cake without the image becoming damp.

Here is the cake, once it came out of the oven..

Once I had iced it, I then added the laminated images to the top...the original picture is split among the two cakes, Our Lady and St Simon Stock on one side, the two sets of angels on the other.

The picture has the Our Lady and the angels sitting among the clouds, so I thought I'd add those clouds back into the cake by making them out of whipped cream.

Our Lady of Mt Carmel's scapular has been on my mind all week, as I finally start making homemade scapulars from scratch..these are scapulars for life ~ you will never need another, they will never break. I have also enclosed inside my scapulars, a miraculous medal, a St Benedict medal, an little photo image of Mother of Good Counsel and St Anthony's Brief.

Those added sacramentals are securely sewed between the two layers of 100% wool felt and will never come out. I have taught myself to embroider and designed the two designs you see below. My daughters are very keen to learn how to make these, and I hope to remake all the scapulars in the home, as well as make some for other relatives and friends. I hope to share a tutorial on how to make them, over at my blog very soon for anyone who may be interested in this craft.

Tomorrow for the feast, we look forward to having the very youngest members of our family enrolled in the brown scapular after the Mass. Wishing everyone a blessed feast day and I ask for prayers for the family members of a young cousin of mine who died in a house fire almost 30 years ago on the 16th of July, the pain and suffering is always there for them, especially at this time.

One side of the scapular has the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts design, the other side, the two sides of a miraculous medal design.

This recipe is not my own. Dad found it on one of my family’s favorite recipe site, Pioneer Woman. We have been using her recipes for some time. We even started a cooking challenge, where we make one of her recipes every week – for the entire year. We have never been let down by any of her recipes. She gives great directions and provides wonderful pictures and humorous dialogue. Pioneer Woman is also a homeschooling mom!

Today, July 6th, is the feast of St. Maria Goretti! We have a bunch of friends coming over for some Saintly Summer Fun to honor this beautiful saint, who was a "Martyr for Purity."

As I was trying to come up with a snack for the children I decided to focus on tying in the lily, the symbol for St. Maria, and the vision Alessandro had of Maria, leading to his conversion:

"While in prison for his crime, Alessandro had a vision of Maria. He saw a garden where a young girl, dressed in white, gathered lilies. She smiled, came near him, and encouraged him to accept an armful of the lilies. As he took them, each lily transformed into a still white flame. Maria then disappeared. This vision of Maria led to Alessandro’s conversion, and he later testified at her cause for beatification." ~ SQPN

Supplies:

Lily Lollipops - St. Maria is often pictured with an armful of Lilies, which symbolize purity. You can purchase the mold here.

Mini Marshmallows - 7 for each cupcake, cut at a diagonal to create 14 flames. These represent the 14 lilies that St. Maria offered Alessandro in a vision, one for each of the 14 times she was stabbed in the heart, which then transformed into 14 still white flames.

Red Cupcake Liners with White Cupcakes and Frosting - Symbolizing the fact that St. Maria was a Martyr (red) for Purity (white).

We give thee thanks, almighty God, for all your benefits, who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

May the Lord grant us His peace. And life everlasting. Amen.

Alternate conclusion:And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

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